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User blog:WildloughRhulain/The Quean and the Rhulain Book One- Blackrudder's Prophecy
__TOC__ Author's Notes This isn't canon timeline, it's an alternate universe crossover between more than one Redwall novel. I always wanted to see what a crossover would be like. 'Prologue: The Most Important Treasures' A bustle of activity in Holt Summerdell woke me. W''hat's going on? It's still the middle of the night. . . Are we under attack?! My paw automatically reached under my pillow to grab the sharkskin sling Lord Mandoral Highpeak had made for me. Whulky yelled through my door.' "Queen Tiria, Aliria's having her kitts!"' As soon as I heard "kitts" I knew what was going on. Chab Streambattle's wife, Aliria, was due to have kitts, but they weren't supposed to be due until next season! Shocked completely awake, I vaulted from my bed, tore across my bedroom and out of my quarters, and sprinted for the nursery, panting and cursing myself. ''If Aliria was having trouble with the birth. . . . By the fang, I wish my quarters were closer to the nursery! I unintentionally bowled my poor second in command and friend, Deedero Galedeep, over in my panic and sent her sprawling. She yelled down the hall, "The Rhulain's on her way, mates!" "Deedero, I'm sorry!" I yelled back. I started to stop and turn around, but my second in command and friend pointed me down the hall. "I'm all right, milady! You're needed in the nursery, I'm right behind you!" My paws moved like lightning as I ran, I couldn't remember how fast I got to the nursery. One minute I was speaking to Deedero, the next I was bursting into a crowded room, my heart hammering. The clans parted, giving me a clear path to run to the bedside. I was so panicked I don't remember much of what happened next, but I must have acted as the midwife, because I remember two tiny bodies coming out into my paws. This was my first delivery and it had gone great! "You have twins!" I gently cleaned the kitts. One boy, one girl. "They're lovely, Aliria! What are their names?" "Our son's Rydan. Chab and I weren't sure whether to name the girl Derian after my mother or not, but there's one name that means more than anything to Chab and I." Aliria looked exhausted and haggard, but was smiling. "It's yours, your Majesty. You delivered us all from the cats, from slavery and death; you delivered my babies. Her name will be Kyria, after you; the K in the beginning of her name's for your kindness." Happy tears welled in my eyes and I blushed. "Please, Aliria, ceremony and titles aren't necessary here. Call me Tiria." I hugged the new ottermum. "If there's anything at all I can do to help, please let me know." Kyria yawned from her mother's arms, showing a tiny pink tongue. Rydan cooed and waved a tiny paw. "Tiria, could you take this little mite for me? It's kind of hard holding two squirming kitts at once right now." Aliria grinned warmly and gently passed Kyria back to me. "I'll be glad to!" I took the chair at Aliria's bedside, making sure I supported the babe's tiny head with a paw. I knew I was holding one of the most important treasures ever. I smiled lovingly at the kitt. Leatho Shellhound stepped into the room, watching me cradle the newborn gently. The fearsome cat slayer had tears in his eyes. I heard a low growl, saw for a moment a brief flash of anger in his eyes, and then it was gone as he nodded and placed a paw around my shoulders, staring at the babe in my arms. "Tiria. . . Tiria. . ." Leatho looked away from me, shuffling a paw. He finally gave me a snort and a wink. "Good job!" 'Chapter One: Failure' Two days later, I found Chab standing at my door in shock, crying. I let my friend in and hugged him. "Chab, what happpened?!" "O-o-one of our k-kitts. . . is d-d-dead," Chab sobbed. "It's K-Kyria. . . " Shock and grief hit me like a ton of bricks. I tore screaming from my quarters and into the Streambattle quarters two doors down with Chab hot on my rudder. "Kyria! No! I won't let you die! Get the healers!" '' Chab raced from the room in panic. The healers tore through the door a minute later and set to work. They finally stepped back, shaking their heads sadly. I scooped the kitt up. . . she was still warm. . . there was a chance! I checked Kyria's airway. . . it wasn't blocked. I started frantically pumping her tiny chest with the tip of my paw and breathing for her. Five hard, fast compressions, then a breath into her lungs. I can't remember how long I kept the cycle going. . . . The healers finally had to physically pull me away from the kitt. "Milady, we've lost her." Hearing those words shattered my heart to pieces. I threw my head back and screamed in grief at the tops of my lungs, waking every still-sleeping otter in Holt Summerdell. It was a wordless, keening wail of agony and anguish that knifed the hearts of everybeast hearing it. Before anybeast could move to stop me I'd jumped to my feet, whirled and fled the holt at a sprint, screaming to myself inside my head. I can't be around the clans right now, if they see their Rhulain break down. . . .They see me as their strong leader, I can't show weakness! Tiria, you stupid idiot, you failed her! Blindly, I stumbled through brush and over rocks, climbing to the top of the bluff that protected Holt Summerdell from the north winds. It was a long, hard climb, but grief drove me forward. Upon reaching the top I finally paused, gazing despondently out over the drop. My vision cleared enough for me to see. The sea, spanning out into eternity below me, seemed peaceful past the violent, angry waves far below. I could see the wave's break; I could feel the rhythmic thunder of the water crashing into the base of the cliff. Heaving sobs racked my body as I fell to my knees. As I went down, a heavy rain began falling, hard and driving. Though the wind was fierce, attacking me and tearing at the simple green shirt and kilt I wore like the claws of our former enemies, the wildcats, I didn't run. A jagged fork of lightning rent the darkness, connecting the heavens and Green Isle; a hot-white brilliance that crackled with wrath and seared the air with ozone. Thunder boomed out a second later, a deafening crack. I didn't flinch. It was the same sound, I imagined, my heart made when it shattered. ''"Kyriaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" Another bolt of lightning slammed down into the water, this one coming so close to the cliff that it blinded me and literally raised my fur. I fell prostrate on the ground and lay motionless, closing my eyes and waiting. I wasn't going to jump from the cliff, but I didn't care if I was hit or not either. A shadow suddenly loomed over me. . . Brantalis Skyfurrow flew down from the sky like an arrow and stood over me, braving the storm and protecting me with his wings. "Queen Tiria! What are you doing?!" "Bra-Brantalis," I sobbed. "I lost. . . a k--k-kitt!" I was speaking to my friend as though I weren't in mortal danger. "I. . . I failed. . . the c-c-clans. . . ." "Don't move! It's not safe for you to be out here!" The goose honked in panic. Another bolt struck close to the cliff, blinding us both. When Brantalis' vision cleared, I lay still under him. "Your Majesty?!" Brantalis honked in terror, looking at me. I didn't reply. ''Had I been struck by that bolt and killed?! ''He whirled and bit my rudder hard with his beak, trying to get a response. My voice, when it finally came again, was muffled. "I c-can't go ba-back n-n-now. . ." "It's okay." *He stroked my head and neck with his bill. Looking into the sky, he honked loudly. After what seemed like seconds, another goose landed beside him. Brantalis barked an order. "Help me fly her to safety out of the weather!" The new arrival, a female goose, spoke up. "Right away!" "Brantalis, who's. . . . " I began. "Queen Tiria, take my leg! Introductions can wait until you're safe!" I obeyed, closing my eyes and hanging on tightly. The geese took flight, lifting me into the air under them. My stomach dropped at the same time my paws left the ground. ''Don't look down. Don't look down. Don't look down. If I do I'm going to throw up. . . . . '' Category:Blog posts Category:The Quean and the Rhulain Category:Unfinished Fanfiction Category:Book Crossovers Category:Collaborative Ideas